Neither Virtuous or Consistent

That's what I am, neither virtuous or consistent.
When teaching about virtue I always used the same story of two guys that walk by a $20 bill on a desk.  The first guys sees it, thinks about taking it even though he knows it isn't his, but decides not to.  The second guys sees it and keeps on walking.  Which guy has true virtue? The second guy!  Taking the money that was not his did not even cross his mind. Even though the first guy did nothing wrong, the thought of taking the money crossed his mind and he had to talk himself out of it.
Well, my dad found a nice phone today. Knowing nothing about electronics he gave it to me.  My first thought was "sweet! I could maybe use this".  Thinking of the owner who might want their phone back didn't cross my mind for a while.  It was only until I searched online what I could do with it that I decided I should look for it's owner first before I claimed it as my own.  I charged it, turned it on and emailed the owner.  I'm the first guy...so, I need to work on being virtuous.
Along with this, I'm not very consistent in my actions and thoughts when it comes to a lot of things. When it comes to some things, I am very selfless and tend to always think of others first.  In other situations I am not... I put myself right at the forefront and can be very selfish.
I know there is no quick fix for my selfishness and lack of virtue.  I pray I can me more aware of it and start working on it more and more, with God's help of course.

I Can't Do It Alone

These last few weeks have been crazy for me.  My lazy summer quickly came to an end with friends visiting and a drive to Duluth and back for a wedding.  Then to top it all off, I got a job, which will now require me to move.
I've never claimed to do everything right, and these last few weeks I have managed to screw up in a few ways.  The one big thing that causes me to screw things up is my lack of communication and closeness to God.  Why I haven't figured this out before I don't know, but I have no doubt that the moments I am closer to God, I make better decisions. It's that simple.
I will take this knowledge into my new ministry as a Youth Minister for a Catholic community here in the MT.  As a teacher I was basically a youth minister whenever I wasn't grading papers, which I see as one of the biggest differences.
I know I will not be able to do this alone.  I need God with me and its my job to work harder at staying close to Him.
Prayers for my new ministry and my different view of the state I call home.

Peace all